


My Bonds Of Unholy Matrimony

by OfficialFlannel



Category: Outlast (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Chains, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Kidnapping, Kissing, Neck Kissing, Necklaces, Outlast 2, Physical Abuse, Rough Kissing, Sexual Abuse, Stockholm Syndrome, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2020-08-11 12:14:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20153419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfficialFlannel/pseuds/OfficialFlannel
Summary: Blake's nothing special. A normal guy with a normal life. So why does the weird woman Val from the bakery seem so interested in him? He gets his answer as the woman ends up kidnapping him and won't let him go until he loves her as much as she loves him. Because no one loves Blake. Not like Val does.





	1. My Irregular Regular

That woman was watching him again.

Blake was at his town's local bakery where he worked, standing behind the counter and trying his hardest to ignore the pair of blue eyes staring at him from across the shop. He glanced over and saw the blonde woman, dressed in all black. She saw he was looking over at her and quickly averted her gaze to make it seem like she was just staring at the menu board above his head, but Blake knew better. The woman's name was Val and she had been coming to the bakery nearly every day. She would normally spend hours in the shop. She'd buy a roll or maybe a drink, then go sit in a corner and draw in her little notebook while sneaking peeks at Blake, who's co-workers jokingly called him her crush. They thought she was weird and most of the employees avoided her, save for Blake who tried his hardest to be nice even though he wished she'd leave. He was a good-natured person and being outright mean to someone, especially someone he didn't know, wasn't like him.

A few minutes ticked by painfully slow and Blake wandered away from the counter, wanting to get away from the register. To do what, he didn't know. Stretch his legs? clean something? Anything to make the time go by quicker. He walked around the shop, wiping down tables and counters when he soon found himself near Val's table. Before he could stop himself or even question why he did it, Blake cleared his throat and spoke to her.

"Uh, hey. . .Val, right?"

Val shut her notebook a bit too quickly, earning a confused look from Blake as she just smiled wide at him with an expression Blake couldn't read. It almost looked like joy mixed with something animalistic or carnal.

"Hello, Blake."

The way the woman said his name kind of unnerved Blake. She said his name slowly and almost strained like she was containing herself, containing what Blake didn't wanna know. So he just gave her a nervous smile and waved towards the empty seat beside her, "Mind if I join you?"

"Oh, absolutely not! I don't mind at all," Val's eerie smile grew and she nodded eagerly, moving a few papers and her book to make space for the man. Blake slid into the chair beside her and looked at her, finally getting a better look at this bakery regular.

Val's blonde hair was short, barely going past her ears and her blue eyes held an intellectual gleam and something. . .darker hidden within when she looked at Blake. Before Blake could look away, he was caught by her and the two locked eyes for a few seconds until Blake finally looked away, feeling his cheeks turn slightly red at being caught staring at her.

Great, now he was starting to feel like the weird one.

Then, as though things couldn't get any weirder, Blake felt something on his knee and he looked down, seeing Val's hand on his leg. Blake watched her with an uncomfortable expression, but couldn't find his voice to say anything as Val's fingers slid up his leg slowly. Higher and higher her hand went until-

"Hey, Blake! You wanna get back to work instead of flirting with the customers?"

Blake nearly had jumped out of his seat as the manager suddenly appeared next to him, arms crossed and staring at the two with an annoyed frown. His boss hadn't seen to notice Val's hand on his leg and instead was focused on the employee. Blake quickly shot up from the chair, adjusting his glasses and trying hard not to look so guilty.

"Sorry, boss. I was just taking a little break."

"Whatever. Just get back to work, Langermann."

Blake left Val's side and went back over to his spot behind the counter. He didn't notice, but Val was less than pleased at having Blake taken away from her. She had been absolutely ecstatic when Blake asked to sit with her. Now she could stare at him without having to hide it from him. she could smell the scents of the bakery's sweets and a whiff of cologne on him. It was intoxicating. And his hair! Oh, how she wanted to run her hands through his hair and pulled him to a kiss! And when they locked eyes, Val nearly melted. She tried her luck and put her hand on his leg, and when she hadn't noticed (or rather ignored) any signs of Blake being uncomfortable, she continued moving it up his leg only to be _**rudely **_interrupted by that idiotic boss of his. How dare he try to steal Blake away from her, how dare he taunt and belittle her love.

Of course, a good question was _**why**_ was Val so interested in Blake? They didn't know each other very well, having only spoken a few times before this encounter. Hell, probably even Val didn't know why she was so obsessed with Blake, maybe it was because she was lonely. Maybe it was because she saw Blake as hers after watching him for so long, her delusions taking over her rational thinking as all she could think about was Blake. She didn't know why she wanted Blake, but Val knew one thing for certain.

Nothing and no one was going to keep him from her.

* * *

Hours later and it was finally closing time. While his boss finished up some paperwork, Blake was busy cleaning around the store. He lifted a heavy trash bag out of its container, grunting with effort as the garbage-filled sack weighed a ton. He heaved it over his shoulder and started making his way towards the bakery's back door to go out to the dumpster. He was about to throw the bag into the dumpster when he felt something, or someone, watching him. Blake looked around, but couldn't see anyone. Shaking off the feeling as him just being tired, he headed back into the shop to talk to his boss and see if he could leave. He stopped at the door to his boss's office, knocking softly on the door.

No answer.

"Uh, sir?" He tried again, knocking a bit louder and raising his voice a bit, "Sir?"

Still nothing.

Figuring his boss must've been too busy with his paperwork to hear the employee, Blake pushed open the door and was surprised to find the room was completely dark. It was strange as the lights were always on the office, no matter what. As Blake slowly entered the room, he could make out someone hunched over on the desk in the middle of the room. He sneaked over carefully and tapped his boss on the shoulder, thinking he was just asleep due to being too tired from the long workday to stay awake. When he didn't stir though, Blake shook him only to jump back in surprise as his boss fell out of from his chair, a knife in his neck. Blake rushed over to the dead man's side, panic running through his body as he freaked out.

"Oh, shit! Oh, fuck!" Blake started to yell, "Help! Somebody! I need he-mmph!"

Blake's yells were cut short as someone behind him grabbed him, their long fingers clasping over his mouth and silencing him. They pressed their mouth against his ear and whispered softly into it.

"Shh, honey. None of that now."

Though muffled by the person's fingers, but Blake was still able to spit out, "V-Val?!"

"Oh, you remembered," Val crooned as she pressed her body against his and Blake could feel the woman's heavy and hot breath on his neck.

Val licked his neck sensually, shuddering and groaning softly in sick pleasure. Her other hand that wasn't keeping him quiet was roaming around his chest and stomach, earning a few uneasy noises from Blake. She chuckled softly and squeezed him tightly in an almost intimate embrace. Blake soon found his voice again, muffled and terrified, but it was there.

"You. . .you murdered him, didn't you? Why?"

"Because he got in my way. No one's keeping me from you."

"You're fuckin' crazy, lady."

Val laughed softly and kissed his neck, "Crazy in love. You'll see, you'll love me as much as I love you."

Val's grip suddenly changed, covering Blake's nose and mouth, cutting off his airways as she tightened her grip. Blake kicked and thrashed to try and get free from the woman's clutches, but was at an awkward position, unable to get good traction on the floor with his work shoes. Blake's vision began to darken as his oxygen was cut off, and his attempts for freedom became weaker and weaker. Val was the only thing keeping him from collapsing to the ground and she held on tight. The last thing Blake saw was his boss, butchered like a little pig and covered in blood staring at him with dead, accusing eyes. The last thing he heard as Val's voice, sounding so far away.

"Sweet dreams, my love."


	2. Touching And More Touching

Blake woke up in darkness, unable to move or speak.

He could feel something sticky covering his mouth and the cold metal of what felt like chains wrapped around his wrists which were held above his head at an awkward and slightly painful angle. His heart stopped and his blood ran cold as Blake's memory of how he came to be here resurfaced. The horrible discovery of his boss dead on the carpet, blood pooling underneath the dead man like someone dumped a bucket of paint on him. The smell of that same blood on Val's fingers on his lips as she tried suffocating him. Blake's breathing became more panic-stricken as he struggled against his bonds, trying with all his might to free himself. He screamed in defiance as he struggled, although it was muffled by the duct tape covering his mouth. He stopped his escape attempts as he heard a door open and light poured down from the door, which appeared to led upstairs, into the darkened room.

He saw the shadowy figure of Val in the doorway and remained frozen with fear as the woman slowly walked over to him. She knelt down in front of her captured love, a dreamy smile on her face as she stroked his cheek with her hand.

"My love, you've awoken. Wonderful."

Blake yelled out again in muffled anger and fear, recoiling his head back to get away from her touch. Val chuckled, almost like she was amused by how terrified he was.

'Now, now. Enough yelling. I'll take the duct tape off, but you'd better not try to scream," Val's smile went away and her expression changed into a dangerous indifference, "Or else I'll slit that pretty throat of yours."

Blake nodded, eyes wide as he silently agreed. Val's hand trailed down his cheek slowly, savoring the feeling of his skin on her fingertips before she suddenly and abruptly ripped the duct tape off of Blake's mouth quickly. Blake grunted in pain but made no sound for fear of angering his captor.

"There we go. Better, right?"

It took Blake several seconds to regain his voice, too stunned and terrified to form words after the hell he had been through so far. He coughed once before whispering out.

"Where the hell am I?"

"My house and your new home," Val's hand crept up Blake's face again, running down and across his cheeks, as she continued speaking, "You know, they say that a house isn't a home without a family. But with you here it's finally the home I've always wanted. . ."

Val's voice trailed off as she became distracted with tracing the man's jawline with her finger, before going to drag a finger across his lips. It was like she couldn't get enough of touching him, she had to touch him everywhere. Because he was hers and he would always be hers. Blake had enough of her constant touching, growing annoyed with it. This nut case had no right to touch him like she owned him! So when she tried to touch his face once more, he retaliated, biting her finger. Val's reaction was instant as she retracted her hand, hissing in pain and stifling a curse before she raised her hand and-

_ **SMACK!** _

Blake let out a yell of pain and Val's angered expression vanished as shock and disbelief at what she had done. She watched as a bright red handprint started to grow on his cheek and his glasses were askew, handing off one ear from the blow. Val couldn't believe what she had done, even though it was right there. Plain as day. She had hit him.

She. Hit. Blake.

Val rose to her feet, unable to look at Blake, not wanting to see the fear or even the possible anger in his eyes at what she had done. Without saying a word, Val walked up the steps and shut the door, throwing Blake back into darkness and back to wondering if he'd ever get out of here alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of shorter second chapter, but I plan on making the next chapters a lot longer, or maybe you guys prefer the short chapters? Let me know down below and also tell me what you think of the fanfic so far! Every review helps!
> 
> Thanks again,
> 
> ~ Flannel


	3. Man Of God. Woman Of Devil.

Val's return to the basement hours later was brief, only going down there to drop a plate of food next to Blake's feet and rearranging his chains so he could move to grab the food before leaving, all without even sparing him a passing glance. Blake thought about stopping her, but decided against it and stayed silent. Besides, what would he even say? 

"I'm sorry for biting you?"

"You got a mean left hook, lady?"

No, it was probably in his best interest to keep quiet. At least for now.

Now with the somewhat limited freedom to move his arms, Blake inhaled the food: a turkey sandwich and a glass of water, not realizing until now how hungry he was. After scarfing down the sandwich and draining the glass in one gulp, he suddenly felt tired. Perhaps finally eating something kicked started his brain to tell him it was time to sleep. Perhaps Val slipped something into his food or drink to get him drowsy. Either way, Blake's eyes were feeling heavy and sleep sounded so nice right now.

Ignoring the warning signs screaming in his brain that was telling him to stay awake, Blake slipped away, letting the gentle wave of sleep wash away everything and drifting off into slumber.

* * *

Blake awoke with a start, barely feeling at all refreshed as he was ripped from his dreamless sleep by the feeling of someone watching him. He opened his sleep-weary eyes and saw Val once again knelt down in front of him, her features obscured by the darkness surrounding them. Val didn't seem to notice he was awake, and whispered softly almost talking to herself she was so quiet.

"Can't believe I hit you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hit you, Blake," the woman's voice cracked, like she was on verge of tears, "I'm so sorry."

Blake shut his eyes, pretending to still be asleep as Val moved her face closer to his own and kissed his cheek soft and tender-like as fearing she'd hurt him again. He felt her move away, and opened his eyes, watching her rise and start to leave. Val was halfway up the stairs before Blake spoke, his voice quiet and raspy from sleep.

"Val. . .wait."

Val stopped, one foot raised to continue her climb up the steps while the other was firmly planted on the lower step. She lowered her foot back to the lower stair as she turned her head to look back down at Blake.

"B-Blake?"

Val's voice wavered, obviously nervous about starting a conversation with Blake after what she had done. As Val walked back down the steps towards him, Blake shifted in place, moving to try and get comfortable on the concrete floor. Val sat down beside him with her eyes cast down at the ground, unable to look at Blake. She kept her gaze at the floor and ended up zoning out for a few minutes until she felt a hand on her shoulder, pulling her from her daydream-like state. She turned her head slowly to stare at the hand, pale and shaky, resting on the woman's shoulder. Gathering up a bit more courage, she turned her head a bit more and looked at the man, the face connected to the hand and felt her eyes start to brim with tears. She whirled around, throwing her arms around Blake as she shook and shuddered, her sobs muffled as she pressed her face into her captured love's chest.

Leaving Blake sitting there with no idea what to do.

This lady was nuts! First, she kidnapped him from work cause she thought she was in love with him, then she hit him (although admittedly he deserved it as he did bite her) and now she was crying into his chest. Talk about bipolar! Knowing he'd better do something, anything to make amends, Blake decided to do something that would end up going great.

Or end up going badly.  
  
Blake tried to move his arms and although the man's chained arms were at an awkward angle, he was able to wrap one arm around Val's neck. He felt Val's body tense, startled by his touch, but heard no complaints or protest. Ignoring his heart going a million miles a second and silencing the voice inside his head that screamed at him to shove her away before she killed him, he continued his plan. Blake pulled her closer with his arm while his other arm's hand ran through the woman's hair, whispering into her ear as he rocked her back and forth on that concrete floor.

"I forgive you. . ."

Val pulled her face out of Blake's shirt, her face red and flushed from her tears. She stared into his eyes, her own blue ones watery and tired-looking. She pressed her face against his, the bridges of their noses touching and their lips nearly doing the same. Val's face split into a small smile. But this one was a soft and happy one, not like the usual obsessive and lust-filled ones she usually gave Blake.

They sat there on the cold yet strangely comfortable concrete floor of her basement, no words exchanged between the two. Blake's hands trailed through Val's hair and across her neck while Val's eyes wandered around Blake's body, as though the woman couldn't get enough of just being in his arms, that she also had to stare at every inch of him. Because he was hers, and nothing was going to take him away from her. Not again.

Never again.

Her eyes trailed down from his face to his neck where she noticed something interesting. A silver chain half-hidden inside his shirt, gleaming softly in the dim light of the room. She hooked her finger underneath the chain and before Blake could stop her, she pulled it free from his shirt only to frown when she saw what it was.

A silver cross.

"Blake, what's this?"

Her almost annoyed tone caught him off-guard, as she stared up at him and then back down at the cross necklace in her hand. Blake found his voice again and shrugged, "Uh, it's a cross?"

Her frown deepened and her eyes cast down to the ground, almost as if she couldn't look at him before she spoke up again, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Are you. . .a man of God, Blake?"

Blake nodded hesitantly, "Yes."

"Why?"

Blake took a moment to consider her rather blunt question before shrugging again and answering, "If a person can't believe in God, then what can they believe in?"

"But God doesn't love you," Val murmured and then her grip tightened on the chain, pulling it as her fist shook, "Not like I do."

Val's grip was nearly choking Blake as the chain pulled taut, only to break due to her excessive strength. Both Blake and Val looked down at the necklace, now a pile of chains and the little metal cross in the palm of her hand. Val started to mutter out an apology before Blake silenced her with something she didn’t expect. His lips.

Val acted almost immediately, as though she had been expecting him to do this. Her hands grasped the back of Blake's head, wanting more and not even questioning why Blake decided to kiss her. All she could think about was Blake. She wanted him, she needed him, and now it seemed that he returned her feelings. Blake's own hands continued touching her neck, hair, and face before they unraveled themselves from her neck once more, laying limply at his sides. Val reluctantly broke the kiss, now even more red-faced than what her crying fit caused before.

Val got up from her spot on the floor, a somewhat restrained glee obviously coursing through her body as she leaned down to hug him tightly, nearly squeezing the life out of him before letting Blake go. She was smiling ear to ear as she left the basement, leaving Blake again. He heard the door close behind her and moments later, to his amusement, a happy sounding laugh echo from upstairs. When it was clear Val wasn't coming back down, Blake lifted his hand back up to his face and he eyed the chain dangling from his fingers, the small key to his freedom gleaming in the dull light.

To be honest, now he felt like laughing too.


	4. That Inkling Feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy buckets, it's been a while, eh? Welp, we are back with a spicy new chapter of everyone's favorite Outlast couple written by no one's favorite ginger! 
> 
> Gonna be a lot more frequent with updates during the new year! 2020, baby. God, I'm gonna be 20?! Crazy! Anyway, enjoy this chapter and don't forget to leave a review to tell me what y'all think!
> 
> Thanks again,
> 
> ~ Flannel

Blake waited to start his escape attempt when it was finally nighttime. Well, at least when the feeling in his gut told him it was nighttime came anyway. As quietly as he could, Blake maneuvered his chained arms around until he was able to get a good grip on the key and keep it steady as he unlocked the first chain cuff. Wasting no time he freed his other arm and stood up, his legs grateful to be able to be stretched, the feeling returning to his joints.

He carefully made his way up the stairs, praying that one didn't squeak or creak and give him away. Luckily the steps were quiet and he was out of the basement, eyes scanning his new surroundings as he saw he was in a dimly lit hallway. Several smaller hallways branched off, leading to other rooms in Val's house but Blake was only interested in finding the exit out of this nightmare. He tiptoed around the house, trying to find the front door before Val found him. After a few tense minutes of searching, he found the front door and nearly cried to happiness, he was free! Blake grasped the doorknob, turning it and pulling it. . .

Only for it to stay shut. Blake's heart racing, he pulled again harder this time. Didn't even budge. Blake cursed softly at his luck, of course, Val locked the door. He looked around, muttering to himself as he went back into the main hallway.

"Okay, no need to panic. The keys gotta be around here somewhere."

Blake quietly made his way through the hallway and it's smaller branched off corridors, checking every room he passed. Rummaging through desk drawers, looking under beds, and even digging through a small waste bin, Blake searched nearly every nook and cranny of Val's many rooms only to come up empty-handed each time. He was at the second to last room of the whole house and if the key wasn't in here, then he knew Val had it in her room. But he was going to check here, better safe than sorry. Blake pushed open the door, gritting his teeth as it creaked slightly.

He entered the room, seeing it was the smallest of the rooms in the house. The only furnishings in the small space were a wooden desk and chair in the corner, a lamp on the table was lit. He went over to the desk and started rummaging through its drawers. He stopped himself when he noticed a book laying open on the desk's surface, pencils and pens sprawled out on it and spilling onto the desk. Blake noticed right away that it was that sketchbook he had seen Val have at her table whenever she visited the bakery. Curiosity getting the best of him, Blake sat down and started thumbing through the book's pages. He frowned as he slowly flicked through the pages before his heart stopped as he realized what he was seeing. The book was filled with hundreds of pages of drawings. . .

Of him.

Every single picture was of him. Blake in his bakery uniform. Blake wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and his glasses. Blake and Val hugging, kissing. Blake chained up to a bed. Blake naked with Val on her knees and-

"You're not supposed to be in here."

Blake was pulled from his thoughts and eyes tore away from the book as he heard the whispery voice of the psychotic lover herself. He jumped up from the chair and whirled around like he had been shocked, eyes wide and heart pounding. Val was standing the doorway, wearing a nightgown. Her blue eyes were cloudy with sleep, yet there was that dangerous glint alongside it that terrified Blake. Val crept into the room, as Blake walked backward trying his hardest to distance himself from her until his back hit the wall and he found himself trapped between the wall and Val.

"Here you are, unchained and snooping at my pictures," Val chuckled, as she pressed her body against Blake. Her hands grabbed his shaking hands and she lifted them above the man's head, pinning him against the wall. Her head craned upwards and her lips grazed his ear as she whispered, "How very naughty of you, Blake."

"I-I'm sorry," Blake stuttered, terrified and figured he better started saying anything that might diffuse the potentially dangerous situation he was in, "I was. . .lonely. So when we kissed, I grabbed your key to free myself so I could. . .so I could. . ."

"So you could what?" Val lowered her face to his and pressed her against his, her nose poking Blake's own. Her eyes hungrily watched him as he lied, smiling wide as she eagerly waited for his answer.

"So I could. . .find you. But then I got lost trying to find your room and I stumbled into here," Blake tried to ignore his pounding heart and hoped Val didn't catch it either as he continued, "I saw the sketchbook and was curious, so I looked through it."

Val now seemed nervous as she muttered out, "And. . .what did you think of my work?"

"I think you're a fantastic artist, Val."

Val didn't answer right away, instead doing something that really surprised Blake. She let go of his arms and turned away. He could see her smile was gone and her cheeks were red. Blake reached out, touching her shoulder and she whipped around, hugging the man and nearly sending him to the ground with the amount of force she used. Val buried her face into his chest, and he could hear her muffled voice crack with emotion as she murmured softly.

"Thank you, Blake."

Val let go of him and grabbed his hand, leading him out of the room. Blake, however, stopped outside the room as fear clutched his chest as he briefly wondered if she was going to drag him back down to the dark and cold basement. But his fears were unwarranted as she instead entered a room across the hallway, beckoning with a wave of her hand for him to follow. He walked in and saw Val was in her bed, under the covers and waiting. She gave him a soft smile and patted the bed, signaling for him to come here. Blake was still very nervous and slightly terrified of Val, but he mustered up the courage to crawl into bed beside her. The two laid down together with Val snuggling up against Blake as he pulled her closer with his arm, once more the sound of silence was all that was heard from either one until Val whispered to him.

"Goodnight, Blake."

Blake didn't answer at first, too tired and scared to really form a word, let alone a full sentence. It wasn't until hours later, as he laid there wide awake while Val slept on that Blake whispered to the room and to himself alone.

"I love you, Val."


	5. Murder And Matrimony

"I love you, Val."

Blake repeated those four little words over and over in his head like a broken record stuck on repeat. Those simple, small, and insignificant words that meant nothing unless he put them together.

He loved Val. He didn't understand why or how, but the man was so terrified of this murderous crazy woman, but at the same time he was infatuated with her. Not to the extent she was with him, mind you but it was strong. She was right after all. He loved her as much as she loved him.

But. . .

What if she was lying?

Why would she though, Blake's mind argued back. If she didn’t love him, why would she draw all those pictures of them? Or visit his work every day to see him? Why would she kidnap him if she wasn't madly in love with him as he was with her now? His mind only kept saying that she loved him, more than anyone ever did or ever will. And his mind would never lie to him. Right? Of course, of course, it wouldn't! She loves him and he loves her. More than rationally possible.

As these thoughts rang through his head, Blake felt the drowsy feeling of sleep poke and prod him, as though saying "enough thinking, get to sleep!"

Blake listened to these words and quickly fell asleep, with Val in his arms and vowing to never let her go.

* * *

Val lay curled on the bed as beams of early morning sunlight seeped into the darkened room through the curtain’s gaps, a few of those rays of shining on Val’s sleeping form. She stirred softly, a serene smile on her face as she slid her hand across the bed, feeling…

Nothing. 

Val’s eyes shot open, now wide awake as she stared at the spot where Blake was the night before, now empty and cold like he had been gone for hours. The woman threw the covers off of her as she rose from the bed, running her hands through her hair, frantic and panic starting to set in as she berated herself.

“Stupid Val! Idiotic, dimwitted Val! You never should’ve unchained him, never should of-”

She stopped hurling abuse at herself when she heard rustling and the sound of footsteps coming from down the hallway. Heart going a million miles a minute, she opened her bedroom door and raced down the hallway, stopping in the doorway to her kitchen as she saw Blake.

Sleepy-eyed and messy-haired, but still very much here Blake was sitting at the woman's dining table, chewing on a piece of toast when he saw Val in the doorway. He waved to her, swallowing a bite of toast before speaking.

“Morning.”

Val walked over to him, worrying the man as she couldn’t quite read her expression. She didn’t say a word and instead just stared at her captured and still slightly unwilling love. Before Blake could even blink or react, Val moved forward suddenly and Blake flinched on instinct, expecting her to strike him again. But his fears weren’t needed as she just ended up wrapping her arms around his neck and pulled him into a soft embrace. He returned the surprise hug, albeit hesitantly. Val felt her heartbeat quicken with joy as she felt his arms move around her back and exhaled slowly, a small smile creeping onto her lips.

He wasn’t going to leave her. He made that clear.

Not again.

After Val let go of him and sat with him in the dining room as he finished his breakfast, Blake gathered up the courage to speak what had been on his mind all night.

"Val, my dear?"

Val's heart did backflips at hearing Blake call her "my dear", but kept the urge to kiss him down as she answered, "Yes, Blake?"

Before Blake could get out his question, a knock on the front door startled both. Val shot up from her chair like she had been shocked. Who was here? Why were they here? Val's mind and heart raced like mad as thoughts of someone coming to take Blake away from her filled her head. The man could sense her uneasiness and stood up, putting a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Val, it's okay. Go answer it. It'll be fine."

Val nodded, leaving the kitchen and making her way through the living room to where the front door was. She pulled open the door and her heart dropped.

It was a police officer.

"Good morning, ma'am. I'm Officer Michaels. I was wondering if I could come in for a minute, ask you some questions."

With her heart pounding like it was trying to rip itself out of her ribcage, Val nodded a bit too quickly.

"O-Of course, officer. Of course."

Val allowed the man to step into the house, closing the door behind her. The officer took a moment to look around the living room before eyeing Val. Michaels walked down the hallway, with Val hot on his heels. He stops at the kitchen's entryway and Val was relieved to see that Blake had, perhaps upon hearing the person at the door was a policeman, vanished from the kitchen. Michaels turned his back to the kitchen to face Val as he spoke.

"Ma'am, I'm here to discuss a missing person case. I was wondering if you've seen this man?"

Michaels pulled a flyer from his coat pocket and unfolded it. It was a picture of Blake with the caption 'Have you seen this man?' underneath it. Val hid her shock and worry, shaking her head and giving a frown.

"No, I have never seen that man before in my life, officer."

"Really? I've got several other witness reports from Mr. Langermann's work saying you knew him," Michaels narrowed his eyes like he knew she was lying.

"Well, I mean-"

Val stopped as she saw Blake had appeared in the adjacent dining room's archway, behind the officer, possibly hearing Val was in a tight spot. She saw he had a large kitchen knife in his hand and struggled to keep her smile from growing as she nodded slowly.

Michaels frowned at seeing the woman's eerie smile and sudden silence, "Ma'am? I'm going to have to come down to the station with me. If you know what's happened to our friend Blake here, we got to know."

"Why would we do that," Val couldn't keep her smile hidden any longer, "When my love's right behind you."

Michaels didn't even get a chance to process the words Val said or turn around as Blake grabbed him from behind. The younger man's hands clasped over the officer's mouth and he leaned in so that his lips barely grazed against his ear as he whispered.

"You never should have come here."

Blake's other hand moved to his neck and Michaels saw the blade in his grasp. He slit his throat with one quick slice, the man thrashing and struggling while Blake kept him upright and standing. Blake then let the man go and he felt like a stone to the ground, dead. Blake had a smile on his face though it started to fade as his eyes went wide and he stared at the bloodied knife in his equally red-stained hands and then down at the dead man at his feet.

"Holy fuck, what did I just do?"

Val stepped over the officer's body and stood by Blake as they both looked at the dead Michael, with Val's smile lighting up her whole face as she spoke.

"You saved me. Saved us."

Blake shook his head, "We have to leave now. We can't stay here, what if someone else comes looking for us?"

Val gave a puzzled frowned before nodding, "You’re right. Let’s get out of here."

* * *

The two lovers-in-crime wasted no time. They dragged the dead body out of the kitchen and threw him in the huge dumpster behind Val's house, with luck, that no one would check in on the house for at least a day or two. Then they gathered up all of Val's belongings before leaving her house and got into her car. It felt strange for Blake, stepping outside after being trapped in a basement for God knows how long. As Val drove them to Blake's house to gather up his things, she noticed Blake's change in demeanor out of the corner of her eye and she frowned.

"My love, are you okay?"

Blake had a dreamy puzzled look on his face as he gazed out the window, but it vanished as he gave a smile and turned to look at Val instead, "The sunlight feels. . .weird. But in a good way."

Val smiled and moved a hand to grasp Blake's own. The rest of the short trip was quiet and before either knew it, they arrived at Blake's apartment complex. Blake raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"But I didn't give you any directions. . ."

Val shrugged and reply nonchalantly, "I followed you home from the bakery one night."

Blake remained silent at this, choosing instead to get out of the car. Making his way into the apartment complex and leaving Val behind in the car. He came back quicker than expected, maybe he just didn’t have as many belongings. He was carrying two medium-sized bags in his hands and he seemed nervous as he stepped into the car's passenger seat. Though he said nothing, Val could tell something was on Blake's mind. She didn't press him if he wanted to talk, he would when he was ready. She pulled out of the apartment's complex and was only able to put the car in drive when Blake blurted out several questions at once, unable to keep quiet.

"Are we really doing this? Just leaving? And where will we go?"

Val kept silent at first, keeping her eyes on the road as she started to drive. It wasn't until minutes later when they were out of town and on the highway, did she answer.

"Anywhere but here."

They drove in silence for a few more miles, the only sounds being the radio playing a song neither knew but both didn’t have the energy to shut it off. They drove straight and didn’t stop for hours, which caused Val to nearly kill them a few times after she dozed off behind the wheel. The fourth time this happened, Blake made her stop the car, pulling it over by the side of the darkened highway. He shut off the car and gestured to the backseat.

"Come lay down with me before you kill us, love."

Val wanted to argue, wanted to tell him that they had to keep going but she knew he was right. So she crawled from her seat to the back and laid down, half on top of Blake and half on the backseat. In the quiet darkness, Blake moved and wiggled, before pulling something from his pocket. Val looked at what he had and she didn’t feel so tired anymore.

A ring. A small golden band.

"Blake-"

"Shh, Val. It's my turn to talk. And I have only one thing to ask."

Val nodded, quietly knowing what he was about to ask.

"Will you marry me?"

"Yesyesyesyes!" Val answered his question almost right away, kissing him hard and rolling on top of him. She broke the kiss and Blake was surprised to see she had a frown on her face.

"Something wrong, Val? You don't seem as happy as I thought you’d be."

Val shook her head, "No, no. I'm the happiest I've ever been. It’s just. . ."

"Just what?"

". . .Where did you get that?"

Blake gave a sheepish smile, "Ah, I uh got it off the dead guy."

Val smiled wide, giving the man another kiss, "How romantic."

The two laid back down, happy smiles on both faces as they fell asleep. Because they knew no matter what came next, they knew one thing.

They'd do it together.


End file.
